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State Trooper Found Not Guilty Of Rape

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LANSING (WWJ) - A Michigan State Police trooper has been found not guilty on seven counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the alleged rapes of two women he met at a Lansing strip club.

The Lansing State Journal reports that a jury returned their verdict Tuesday in 49-year-old Joseph Donovan’s trial. They deadlocked on two other counts.

Donovan’s accusers cried as the verdict was read. One of the women had said she was lured to a house and sexually assaulted three years ago. The other said she was assaulted after consensual sexual acts.

Donovan was put on unpaid leave in 2008. The state police will conduct its own probe before deciding if he will return to work.